With the advent of sophisticated telecommunications, much of today's entertainment is derived from video content transmitted to users via television and the Internet. As used herein, “digital content” or just “content” refers broadly to the information contained in a transmitted signal that provides value to an end-user/audience, and includes, for example, entertainment, news, and commercials in the form of, for example, video, audio, Internet websites, and interactive games, just to name a few.
The delivery of content is typically controlled by operators of information networks (e.g., cable, fiber optic service, hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC), and satellite networks), or by content providers (e.g., website hosts, television networks, and some cable system and multiple system operators (MSOs)). Such operators or content providers often limit distribution of content to only those users having proper credentials to receive such content. As used herein in the telecommunication context, the term “credentials” or “credential information” refers to information associated with the user that verifies that the user is entitled or allowed to receive or gain access to the content. Although an increasing number of information networks use credentials, such as fingerprints, voice recognition, retinal scans, x.509 Public Key Certificate, and so on, in the delivery of content, the classic combination of a user account number or name and possibly a password is typical.
A common approach for verifying the credentials of a user is to have the credentials encoded into or otherwise associated with a specific piece of hardware, such as a set top box (STB). As used herein, a “set top box” or “STB” is a device that connects to a monitor and an external source of signal, and converts the signal into content for display on the monitor. The signal source might be an Ethernet cable, a satellite dish, a coaxial cable (cable television), optical fiber, a telephone line (including DSL connections), Broadband over Power Line, or even an ordinary VHF or UHF antenna. The STB is typically configured to transmit an identification, which a server recognizes as belonging to a user having a certain subscription plan that defines the scope of services and content the user is entitled to receive. The user identification and subscription plan therefore provide the credentials for delivering content to a user.
Despite the ubiquity of this approach, Applicants have identified shortcomings of having credentials embedded in a specific device, such as a STB. For example, limiting credentialing to a specific device ignores the vast number of networks separate from the specific device. Such networks can be found, for example, in Wi-Fi enabled coffee shops, sports venues, public bars and restaurants. These venues provide potentially interesting opportunities for downloading content to users. The delivery of such content, however, is limited because users are often unable to provide their credentials, however, because their credentials are embedded in a particular set top box, at home.
Although such venues may allow credentials to be provided by keying in a password or by entering credit card information, this requires the user to be proactive, which may be enough of a nuisance to dissuade the user for using the network. Additionally, passwords and credit card information can be lost or stolen, thereby allowing others, who actually do not have legitimate credentials, to fraudulently gain access to certain content by using misappropriated passwords or credit cards.
Therefore, a need exists to exploit the availability of content in locations where user-specific hardware is unavailable or cannot be used practically. To this end, a credentialing approach is required that is not constrained by location, hardware, and password limitations. The present invention fulfills this need among others.